Page 8 of Last Ride of the Umbra Fae

“I sure have,” the asshole said, grinning ear to ear, a smile far too wide exposing pearly white teeth—diamonds in his rough appearance. Beneath his shadowed jawline, dark strands of hair brushed against the sharp edges. The jerk was a beautiful mess. With a slight tilt of his gambler-creased cowboy hat, I was ready to end this night and go to bed.

“Vessa, this is Ryder. He will be our guide in The City of Donia.”

Ryder threw me a charming wink that sent my brows snapping together. With a slow turn of my head, I side-eyed Pa with a look.

What are you thinking?

There were many things he kept to himself—it was aggravating one hundred percent of the time—but this? Having a guide had not been in my plans. Nor had going to The Cityof Donia. Which meant my tonic was getting harder to find, something I knew he worried about. I held in my emotions, taking a deep breath as I felt pressure build behind my eyes and rolled my head around, easing the pain between my shoulders.

“Well I guess that’s that then, isn’t it?” I chided, but I knew Pa wouldn’t have a response. He was three seconds from grunting as his way of saying,“Yup.”

“Here.” He tossed Ryder a skeleton key.

“And did you get me the best room this hellhole had to offer?” Ryder asked as they exchanged a look, one that forced me to believe they’d had quite a few discussions before this. How? When? I had no clue.

“Second,” Pa corrected, holding out the other key in my direction as his eyes remained locked on the brute cowboy, eyes boring into Ryder’s soul as if searching for something. Still not pleased about having to go this route, I held my hand out. As the key fell onto my palm, Pa said, “She always gets the best. Remember that. Be lucky your room came with a bath.” With a quick once-over and a simple touch to the brim of his hat, he said, “You need it.” He turned to leave, making his way up the wooden stairs to where I assumed the rooms were.

I remembered, long ago, when we’d stayed up all night as he’d talked about memories of a haunting past that still hid in the shadows of his eyes. But he’d always felt better by the end of it, releasing whatever demons had been surfacing. It’d seemed to make his dreams better, less chaotic because we knew they were nightmares. Now things were vastly changing. As time went on, he turned in earlier and earlier, as if he were chasing something far better than this. I couldn’t imagine what it was.

I felt Ryder’s stare as I watched Pa leave, lifting his gaze above the brim of the glass as an uncomfortable silence hung between us. He threw two fingers into the air at the barmaid. I watched the flutter in his jaw as his attention was drawn towardher. A black bandana was tied at the base of his neck. But as he leaned into the weathered wood of the bar, I caught a glimpse above the cloth. The tips of his hair slightly brushed against the crook of his neck, a soft, thick, pulsing chord I’d like to sever.

The barmaid placed two glasses of smoky whiskey in front of him.

“Looks like you need a drink,” Ryder said, sliding one my way. My eyes narrowed on the glass, the amber liquid sloshing around a few cubes of ice. My throat bobbed. The temptation was far too alluring.

I grabbed the drink off the counter and chugged it. He tilted his head to the side as he watched. When I was done, I slammed the glass down, causing a few heads to turn our way.

“He’s right,” I bit out. “Youdoneed a bath.”

He slid his tongue over a canine, watching me as if he were already naked in a bath full of warm water, and sucked in his tongue. This asshole was way too fucking confident and ornery.

Humored, he looked down at the room number etched into the metal of his skeleton key. “Well, darlin’, I’m in room twenty-six if you wanna watch.”

I scoffed, leaning in a few more inches. His scent enveloped me—black licorice, spice, and heavens knew what he’d killed before coming here. “Fuck you, cowboy.”

5

Vessa

Something tapped at my window before dawn broke across the sky. I pulled the duvet cover over my head, muffling the sound until it went away. It wasn’t long until the rapid tapping came back. Growling, I threw the blankets off my body and flung myself out of bed. Raven appeared outside my window as a shadow cast in the luminescence of a fiery, crimson sky. He stretched his dark, silkened wings, as if he had been there all night. I never pried into where Raven went, but he was always waiting for me in the morning.

I slid the window up. “I’m shocked you didn’t shift into my room,” I said, yawning as he did just that in swirls of shadow, curling around my body in a familiar greeting before an apparition of a man appeared in a solid body on the edge of the bed. Now in fae form, Raven deeply yawned and stretched out his back.

“I have manners,” he replied, rolling his broad shoulders. I knew by the way he cracked his back that phantom pains plagued him in the remnants of the shift—pain that often mirrored my own but in different ways—and I waited until he settled after some more groans and stretches.

Raven always slept in his bird form, but now, with his elbows leaning into the mattress, his stare was far too penetrating this early morning. For a moment, silence hung between us. My eyes lowered to his abdomen, a firm body I knew was hiding beneath that dark, tight-fitted cotton long-sleeve with suspenders that seemed glued to every muscle. I was glad he harnessed the power to shift with clothes on. Without any, it would have only made things awkward. He tilted his head, catching where my bright violet eyes were.

Clearing my throat, I briefly turned and pulled out my nicely drawn portrait from my coat pocket. “Apparently, your manners only extend to when I’m sleeping,” I said, handing him the folded up piece of paper.

He watched me stride toward the washroom. With a wave of my hand, the wooden door slammed shut.

I heard him scoff. “A fucking blue jay? I’m a gods-damn rav?—”

“A raven, I know.” I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.

“Well, hey, at least you look good,” he said.

I summoned the door open just a crack. “Again, I know.” I smirked before slamming it. “So did you know about the cocky cowboy Pa hired?” I called out.

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